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Colorado Springs hostage standoff ends peacefully

A Colorado Springs hostage standoff that lasted several hours, and resulted in the lockdown of schools and the closing of a major road, is now over. It ended peacefully just before 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The suspect, identified as Thomas Vanfleet, was taken into custody. His hostage does not appear to be hurt, but she is receiving a standard medical exam.

The hostage drama began four hours earlier when law officers tried to serve an arrest warrant for aggravated robbery. Initial reports said that he was holed up with his wife and two children. As the morning progressed, a clearer picture emerged--the children were already at school, while the hostage was Vanfleet's girlfriend.

When the CSPD SWAT team arrived, Vanfleet threatened to kill his hostage. He later backtracked, saying he would release her after spending some "quality time" with her.

The fugitive also told officers that he was "not going back to jail" and repeatedly told them "we're going to rock and roll."